A destination always high on my ‘To Do’ list was the Great Wall of China. It had always fascinated me and for no particular reason. I have just always wanted to see it.

In 2008, I found myself on a plane landing in Beijing. Only twenty four hours stood between myself and the Great Wall of China. It was also my birthday. Needless to say, I was very excited.

With our minimal experience of China, we opted for a tour offered by our hotel. Ordering food had already proven to be an epic adventure in itself let alone trying to find a Great Wall. A tour would be a carefree option….or so we thought.

Our tour guide arrived early the following morning. She was bright and bubbly and looking forward to showing us the sights of Beijing. We boarded a small tour bus to join a group of equally excited people.

Our tour passed by the Water Cube, Birds Nest and Olympic Village as we made our way into the countryside. Their recent construction for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad brought an interesting addition to the Beijing landscape.

This photo was taken the night before to show the full glory of the Watercube.
Our tour was during the daytime

No tour in China is complete without a stop at a jade factory. Initially a little annoyed with this mandatory stop, the jade factory actually turned out to be quite a fascinating experience.

A short tour inside unveiled the mastery and technique behind the lifetime of craftsmanship of the jade carver – a career that is passed down through the generations. We were taught the difference between the different colours of jade and were shown techniques to tell the difference between real jade and fake jade.

The showroom housed a magnificent array of jade carvings with plenty of items for sale. I left with a small token of our trip, a jade bracelet for my birthday. It is a Chinese belief that wearing jade is good for your health. Now I think about it, I’ve felt pretty good since then!

As we continued along to our promised destination of the Great Wall of China, the bus made another mandatory stop – the Ming Tombs. The tombs are the burial ground for thirteen of the sixteen Ming Emporers from the 15th and 16th century. Many concubines were also buried alive to accompany Emporers on their journey into the afterlife. A museum features treasures that were unearthed during the excavation of the Dingling Mausoleum. The stop was an interesting step into Chinese history.

While we eagerly awaited our arrival at the Great Wall of China, our tour bus stopped for yet another mandatory break – a Chinese medicine facility.

Looking very much like a place where you go in, never to be seen again, the medicine facility was designed to introduce weary travellers to the world of Chinese medicine. After an interesting lecture by a young female medical assistant in a stark, bland classroom on the techniques and benefits of Chinese medicine, the doctors arrived, ready to give everyone a ‘free’ diagnosis.

As everyone poked out their tongue for what appeared to be a harmless, free inspection, scripts were suddenly written with lightning speed for essential medicines we needed to purchase downstairs. When we declined their offer, the doctor started yelling at us in Chinese.

We promptly ran out the door.

Finally, our tour arrived at the Great Wall of China. It was one of the busiest tourist sections of the wall. We made our way through the trough of stall holders all trying to sell tacky artifacts as our tour guide proceeded to take us to the front of the long queue; a benefit of being on a tour finally revealing itself. We had the option of walking to the top of the wall or taking a trolley ride. We opted for the latter.

As we moved closer, the revelation of what actually constituted a trolley ride became more apparent. Small, individual, plastic carriages on a similar system to a roller coaster ride as it makes its initial climb made a continous loop from the bottom to the top non-stop. Little old ladies were thrown onboard as children leapt in for the ride.

Passing under the carriage system as we made our way to the platform, it appeared the trolley system hadn’t been serviced for a while. When it was our turn, we joined the throng and held on for dear life as the trolley made its way to the top.

I was finally on the Great Wall of China! It was extremely windy and the air was cold the day we were there (end October) but that didn’t matter – I was on the Great Wall of China.

As we walked along the wall, I was surprised to find how steep it was in some sections. Recent rain caused several parts to be quite slippery and care was needed. I was disappointed to find that some of the towers were considered, by some, to be an outstanding place to relieve themselves, out of hours.

A walk along the wall was not as easy as I had imagined so we were careful not to walk too far. The view was magnificient.

The trolley ride down was another adventure. Approx. 15 trollies sat back to back behind one ‘driver’. As the contingent slowly wound its way down the hill, the smell of burning brakes reassured us that we were in safe hands.

Bear pits greeted us at the bottom amongst the trinket sellers. The bears would perform for treats purchased by tourists. I felt sorry for the bears and wished I could take them all home.

The tour had quite an impersonal nature to it. I really enjoyed the jade factory but was annoyed at the other two mandatory stops, in particular, the chinese medical facility and by the time we arrived back at our hotel, I was glad to get off the tour bus.

While I am sure there are much better tours available and better parts of the wall to visit, somehow, the annoyances all pale into insignificance because…I was on the Great Wall of China.

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